I own only what's in my head. The rest belongs to various authors/producers/ and government agencies.

Here's chapter 25 of Magic vs. MA.

Let's see... What's next? Summer season at work is over, so I have more time and energy to be writing. I had done a few ch's but I had a disk read error and lost 7ch of several of my stories in early July and I haven't had time/energy/drive to write them over.

Okay. I'm sure by now, most of the repeat readers will have noticed that my chapters tend to include two or three subsections. This is no different.

I tried the little blurbs last time, but no one seems to like them. which I found odd. But, since no one liked them except me, I guess I have to stop ... hey wait a minute it's my story and if I want them in, then I'll put them in, damn it!

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Ranma was beginning to get worried. He hadn't heard from Nabiki in nearly two weeks and she was usually pretty prompt on replying when he mailed her. She'd never gone more then a week to reply to a letter he wrote. He wondered what was delaying her. And he'd noted that the Umbridge woman had been getting over her fear of him and started issuing some more of her silly decrees. She'd even started picking on Gryffindor students again, assigning detentions that were out of line with the false infractions she was accusing them off doing. She'd been especially harsh on Harry, assigning the young man a series of detentions.

She'd even assigned Ryoga and Taro detentions when she'd taken over their charms class. She'd thrown Ranma and Akane a number of harsh looks, but hadn't worked up the nerve to go after either of them just yet, though Ranma knew it was only a matter of time. She'd been oddly pleasant to the other teachers, though he'd occasionally catch a sly, scheming look on her face. She was planning something, something big and he was worried about what it could be.

He needed to talk to Nabiki. She was better suited for this kind of thing then he was. He was a head on kind of guy, and this subtle struggling stuff was out of his league. He'd have to find a way to get to a phone or computer. Maybe during the next Hogsmead weekend. There was one this coming Saturday. He and Akane could slip out and fly to the nearest non-wizarding village and see if they had a phone or public computer he could access in order to get through to her. She always had her Palmtop and cell phone with her.

He cleared his head of the thoughts and went back to focusing on the teacher. Surprisingly, Professor Snape was a somewhat better teacher then Harry and his friends had indicated. He seemed to be doing his best to insure that all the students in the class were capable of both attack and defensive spells of a level suited to their abilities. He had shown no favoritism to any of the students or houses, and had clear and concise with his instructions. He'd gone out of his way to explain the why's and how's of each spells and not just throw the steps on the board as Ranma had been told he did in the potions classroom. Ranma was doing better in this class then any of the others except the Acupuncture course.

The class finished and Ranma gathered his things, feeling a little left out. Akane had been doing even better then he in their make up courses and was now up to the same level as Harry and his friends. He was still in with the 2nd year students for most classes, though he'd been moved up to third year for Defense Against Dark Arts and to 6th for the Acupuncture courses. Akane was pretty much in 5th year for all her courses, except potions which she was sill with Ranma in 2nd year. Her problems with cooking were carrying over to potions class, no matter how many times that Khu Lon tried to get her to understand that potions was nothing more then chemistry with different ingredients. Akane had done well in regular chemistry courses, but she just wasn't able to translate that over to cooking or potions.

He bid farewell to the people he knew in the class as he felt it more important for him plan his trip then go to the flying class. He'd already proved that he could do anything that Hooch could do an a broom, and he'd also shown that he could do those same tricks without a broom.

He reached his and Akane's room and entered, dropping his books on the table near the fireplace and going directly towards the washroom. He wiped off his face and hands and then left, going to fix himself a light snack before lunch. Akane was in extra study session with Khu Lon right now and wouldn't be back until lunch started. They'd recently started having lunch in their quarters with only Kasumi and Tofu, as Kasumi's pregnancy had made it difficult for her to be in the rather aromatic hall during the communal meals.

This gave him an hour to relax before his wife and in-laws came by. Just enough time to do a little meditation and allow the idea that was tickling his mind to come into the forefront.

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Shampoo frowned and slid deeper into the shadows as yet another of her allies evil Soul sucking creatures passed by in the hall. She repressed a shiver of fear as the mindless beast passed by. Once it was gone, she resumed her silent trek towards the place she was to meet her new ally and his associates. She hated this dark dank place and wished for warmer, friendly environments. She might be taking the steps leading her to the ultimate evils of her tribe, but that didn't mean she shouldn't be comfortable and warm while planning her evil deeds. She'd never understood why so many of these western masters of evil always seemed to choose caves, cemeteries, and other dark and chilly places for their lairs. Why couldn't they make their lairs in a nice warm hotel or mansion instead of rundown mansions or crumbling castles?

She'd been working on various plans to punish Ranma and have the blame shifted to members of the Slytherin house, or perhaps Taro and Ryoga, when one of the Dark Lord's lackeys at the school had approached her and advised her of this meeting .She had set her plans aside and left straightaway. She'd biked into the village of Hogsmead from the school castle and there met another lackey who'd brought her to a secret meeting place in the bad part of the village. From there, they had first flooed (how she hated having that damn ash in her luscious hair)to a place in Knockturn Alley. From there they then aparated to Malfoy Manner, and then flown to Little Haggleton and taken a hidden entrance into Voldemort's ancestral home. It had been sold off several generations before the half-blood wizard's birth as his family line had several issues with money that lead them to waste their ancient treasury to nothing. Oddly enough, the family home had in a way remained in the family passing from his wizarding ancestors to his non-wizarding ancestors over the course of 4 generations. It had been renamed from the Gaunt Estates to Riddle Manor in that time.

From there her escort had left her and returned to his other tasks, leaving her to rind her way to Lord Voldemort's throne room in the old ball room. The castle like structure was infested with his servants, both human and non human alike. And the Soul-Suckers, which the westerners called Dementors paroled throughout the castle, seeking intruders for to feast upon.

She wondered what was so urgent about this meeting. Voldemort was not one to withdrew people from Hogwarts, having great need of inside information on the actions of the staff and students. Especially that Potter boy and the Headmaster. She hadn't had much chance to follow either as the Headmaster seemed to disappear into his office which was impossible to find let alone enter, and the Potter boy spent most of his time with Ranma and his friends. This would normally not have been a problem, as she could simply have gone and done her Bimbo act, pouncing on him and irritating the Tendo girl, but Ranma had been training the girl, and though she could still beat her, she knew that doing so would simply anger Ranma. She needed to appear as a friend for now. It was not yet time to show her true strength and ambition.

So she continued to avoid Ranma and his followers, playing instead at being too busy with catching up to the others in her 'house' to spend time chasing him. She also subtly wormed her way into the confidence of other Slytherin students, learning as much as she could about the social background of the school. She'd learned that a large portion of the Slithering were not on the path to darkness, simply that they were ambitious and attracted to power. They neither supported nor condemned the Dark Lord and other dark wizards. They simply wanted to work each side to get the best advantage for themselves from both sides. She also managed to get them to give her their observations of the other houses, and especially where it concerned Potter and his allies.

She entered the large room and studied the crowd of Death eaters. She had to withhold her sneer as she opened her senses and drew in the taste of their auras. Most here were weak and barely strong enough to light a candle, as far as her Amazon history was concerned. She'd learned more dangerous spells then they knew when she was barely out of her diapers. But she'd then started focussing more on martial arts, as he'd seen more potential for glory as the tribes War Mistress then as the oft scorned and ridiculed Shaman.

She had kept up some of her gifts, but had not bothered with most magic beyond the potions and brews that she'd been taught to concoct. She looked towards the throne like chair upon the raised area that had once been used to house string quartets and other entertainers when the mansion had been in better repair. Lord Voldemort was sitting in court over his Death Eaters who were telling him of various missions they'd gone on under his command. From where she was standing, he seemed to be slouching slightly as though bored with the proceedings.

She shoved her way through the throng, dropping her cloak and ignoring the appreciative and curious, as well as the angry, glances turned towards her. She reached the space before the dais and kneeled, hating every second of the submissive gesture but knowing that she needed to be a good little servant for now. Once she'd freed her people and destroyed Ranma, taking his power for her own, then she'd punish the foolish patriarchal world for their treatment of her beloved Amazon nation.

"I come Lord Voldemort as summoned." she stated in as docile a voice as she could manage.

"Ah, Xian Pu of the Amazons. It is always a bright mark on the day when you are in our presence. I have summoned you in order to introduce our newest ally. Though I have heard that you are already acquainted with him somewhat."

A side door swung open and a cloaked figure came striding through. The cloak did nothing to hide the beings identity as Xian could feel the waves of power and heat that could only come from one being. She felt a moments hesitation, not sure of how she should react to the presence of the Phoenix Lord. Then waved her feelings off with contempt. She had been another for nor against the Phoenix Lord during his conflict with Saotome, and had done more to aid his cause then hinder it. It was the fault of his henchmen and aids that he had lost and been forced to undergo a rebirth.

Saffron tossed back the hood of the cloak and stared down arrogantly at her. His attitude annoyed Xian, but she set her feelings aside for now. She could punish him later as well.

"Xian Pu of the Amazon nation, you know who I am.." he stated, his voice seeming to crackle with an inner flame. "I remember you from your time under the spell of the Kikomi egg. It is unfortunate that I did not get a chance to enjoy your company during our first encounter. But I am pleased to note that you have not fallen under the spell of the damned Saotome like so many other unfortunate females."

Xian snorted. "Saotome is not worthy of Xian Pu. Is not man enough to be Xian's husband. Too stubborn and pigheaded, like all non Amazon men. Only good thing is his strength, but that wasted because he too nice. Has no understanding of what to really do with power he is given. But we fix that soon. We take his power and use it for right purpose of restoring us back to our homes and destroying the PRA and all who are enemies."

Saffron studied her for a moment and then there was a slight quirk of his lips. He understood exactly what she was proposing to do after they had destroyed Ranma and their alliance with the wizard was at an end. An alliance with the newly formed Amazon nation would do his people well. He'd only managed to take about 300 Phoenix warriors with him, as well as about a dozen Musk, and maybe a hundred Amazons. If he wanted to regain control of the rest of his people he would need the help of powerful warriors and the cunning minds of Amazon warriors. And he was well aware that Xian Pu was the strongest and most cunning of the current generation of Amazons.

She had, after all, fooled the renowned Khu Lon, Honored Grandmother of the Jokoketsu into believing that she was nothing more then a bubbly airhead who was enthralled with the damn fool who had interrupted his birthing ceremony and forced him to be reborn as an infant when he should have stepped into his full powers. Luckily, once he got past the toddler stage, he was able to use his magic to force his growth to adolescence and then properly undergo the birthing ceremony. So now he was at his full power, at least ten times the power level head been during his first battle with the Saotome boy. He'd been hiding his power since the news reached him that Saotome had managed to survive the Gift of the Cold Dragon and taken dragon form so as to lull the mortal into a false sense of superiority.

He would accept Xian Pu's offer and aid, more then willing to accept her terms, which he new even if she'd never stated them. Xian Pu herself was only a mortal, no matter how long lived she might eventually become, and once she died, any treaties or agreements between them would be null and void. He could wait. He was immortal, unlike the rest of the fools he was dealing with.

"Tell me more of what you have learned about Potter and his allies." Voldemort ordered, missing most of the subtext of the conversation between his two allies, but not liking the way they had excluded him by speaking in their native dialects. If not for the standard translation regularly cast on the hall, he would not have been able to follow anything of their conversation.

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Harry and his friends were in the middle of yet another great lesson with Sirius when the news came. Sirius had just shown them a powerful blasting spell that was 7th year standard when the two Aurors who had been acting as his 'guard' entered the room and disrupted the lesson. The usually grim faced men, both hulking brutes of a size seemingly more suited to a professional wrestler then an Auror, were smiling wildly and holding out a large parchment before them. Each had their wands out, and the blond haired one was also holding a set of heavy looking manacles.

"What do you bloody gits want?" Sirius asked in his scratchy voice. He had replaced his wand into the wrist holster on his left arm. His arms were crossed before him and he learned back on the edge of his desk, a picture of relaxation and contentedness.

The dark haired one growled and held up the parchment. "I wouldn't be so rude if I were you Black." he spit out the last word like it was the most foul curse he could utter. "This here states that you are to be rearrested and held in chambers until an escort team arrives to take you back to the Ministry to undergo questioning in regards to your crimes."

Sirius barked a laugh and raised an eyebrow. "And what crimes would these be, Williams?"

"The crimes are numerous and extensive, but here's a short list. 1-being an illegal and unlisted animagi, 2-inciting others to become illegal animagi in the persons of James Potter and Peter Pettigrew, 3-possesion of banned and regulated books on the art of becoming animagi, 4-conspiracy to hide from Ministry Aurors in animagi form to name a few. You are to be placed under house arrest while these charges are investigated, as are the charges of the death of Peter Pettigrew and 13 muggles that you were initially jailed for. Should you be found guilty of these and other charges you will be sentenced to a period of 20 years in Azkaban, of which the 13 years you served will be counted towards. At the end of the remaining time, you will received the Dementor's Kiss for the deaths that have resulted as of your actions of support towards You-Know-Who, and his Death Eaters. In order for the Ministry to find the truth, all of your assets will be frozen and held until such a time as you are either cleared of the charges or found guilty, in which case they shall be forfeit to the families of your victims. All items purchased and obtained by you since your escape using your illegal animagi form of a large Grim-like dog shall also be impounded. Included in these lists of assets are one Firebolt broom currently belonging to Harry James Potter, and the deed to the Shrieking Shack located in Hogsmead village. You are to surrender your wand to us and come quietly, or we are authorized to use force."

Sirius looked for a moment like he was going to object, but then he caught sight of Harry swinging his wand towards the two Aurors with a look of rage on his face and calmed down. He couldn't resist, as that would allow the gits to try and force his obedience, and that would cause Harry to try and defend him, and then Harry's friends would step in as well, and all would be arrested for attacking an Auror and for interfering in a just arrest. Even if the arrest was a farce. He caught Harry's eyes and shook his head. Harry looked to refuse to obey him, so he put some force into his glare and shook his head. Harry frowned and threw him a questioning look, which he answered with a silent 'Later.' Once Harry nodded and replaced his wand in his pocket (I really should get the boy a good holster. I'd hate to hear what Moody would say seeing him do that, he thought to himself), he again looked at the guards.

"Well, I guess I'll need to go along with you gits for now. But you won't find anything since I didn't kill Pettigrew or those muggles. Pettigrew is alive, only your wanker of a Minister refused to admit what's as plain as the nose on that arse he calls a face. Voldemort is back, buckos and you have bigger fish to fry then little old me."

"Stuff the nonsense, Black. Hand over your wand." the blond stated, his own wand pointed at the gaunt man. Neither of the two walking boulders hat noticed the silent conversation between Sirius Black and his famous godchild.

Sirius chuckled and slowly removed his holster from his arm. It was an older model compared to the sleek hyper pocketed ones of today. This one had been a gift from James for Sirius' passing of his OWLs. He removed his wand, a 9.5 inch knobby Ash from a tree in the colony's with, appropriately enough, a powdered Grim's fang core. He handed the wand to the blonde, and turned to face the class. "Now I want you all to continue to practice those spells I was teaching and those I had on the lesson plan I gave you. Harry, take this and wear it proud. Your father gave it to me for beating the OWL's and I'm proud to pass it to you. I also want you to have the notebook on my desk. It has a few little surprises in it. You should be able to pick them up and pass them on to your study group." He gave Harry a wink as he tossed him the hydra scale arm holster. "It's spelled, but you know the passwords." He then turned and held his arms out for the guards who slipped the manacles on. When one of the guards made to grab the book, Harry reacted quickly and summoned it to him, glaring defiantly at the guard.

The guard made a move towards Harry as though to forcefully take the book, but found himself on the bad end of more then a dozen wands, including Harry's own. The guard might have been dim, but he wasn't a fool. He, like others in his branch, had been at Hogwarts as a guard during the TriWizard Tournament, and he knew how dangerous an opponent Harry could be. And with a few months of training under Black, a potentially dangerous criminal and Death Eater, who knew what they could accomplish. He might be able to take three or four, but certainly not all of them. He lowered his wand and backed away, glaring at Harry who returned his glare with one more suited to someone several decades older and more experienced. The look of anger and restrained power in Potter's eyes was enough to make him think that perhaps his boss was wrong about Dumbledore and others exaggerating Potter's power.

"Careful, Potter. I'd hate to have to arrest you for Interference in Ministry matters. Give me the book, it is evidence in Black's complicity in these and other crimes." the man stated arrogantly.

Harry snorted and slid the book behind him. "This book has nothing in it to prove anyone guilty of anything. It's simply a guidebook like any other you get at Flourish & Botts. Here, take a look." While the book had been behind his back, Ron had tapped it and whispered the words of the spell to disguise it's true nature that he'd learned during his adventures with Harry after Harry had received the Marauders map. Harry brought out the book and passed it to the Auror, who skimmed through it and snorted at the title and material inside. The book was titled 'For a Good Defense, you need a Good Offense: A guide to strong Offensive DADA spells useful for All Wizards and Witches.' Inside were about 200 various spells, mostly attack spells, but there were a few shields and offensive Defense spells later in the book. In fact the book was quite well known and it was considered a good prep book for people wanting to become Aurors. He'd had to study it himself, though he'd been a good four years older then these students. He handed the book back and turned to his partner, indicating the door.

The pair left without another word, leaving the class wondering what was going to happen now with the course.

It was only seconds later that Ron's hand came up and slapped himself in the head and he started muttering an impressive list of swears under his breath.

Hermione smacked him in the head and looked annoyed, though it was hard to keep a straight face at Ron's crestfallen expression. "Ronald, watch your language." she stated as sternly as she could, though her fondness for the red haired youth leaked through her every word and body language. "What's wrong?" she asked when he stopped and glared ineffectively at her.

"Blimey, Hermione, don't you know what they just said means?"

"Yes Ronald, it means that Sirius is likely going back to Azkaban and get the Kiss, and that Harry has lost his godfather." she stated primly.

Ron sighed and shook his head. "No, not that. They're taking Harry's broom. That means he'll have to either borrow someone from another house's or one of the school brooms. And as good a seeker as Harry is, his advantage has always been in having the best broom on the field. Now when we play our game against Slytherin, Malfoy will have the advantage of a faster broom."

Harry and Hermione exchanged glances and then chuckled lightly. Trust Ron's obsession with Quidditch to show them a lighter side of bad news.

Harry was about to say something when the door opened again and 'Professor' Umbridge entered the room, a hideous smiled on her wide face. "Greetings class, it's good to see you are all well and that Black ahs not harmed any of you. As you know, former Professor Black is a wanted criminal who has perpetuated many crimes against the Ministry and the population of Great Britain. As such he is no longer associated with the school. For this reason, I shall now be taking over his class. I assume you all have the Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5? Yes, good. Put away your wands and take you seats. Now, turn to page 117 and read the next three chapters. Homework for the next class is a roll and a half of parchment on identifying the various breeds of werewolves and how to destroy each." She moved up to the desk and sat, pulling out a larch roll of parchment that she began to read. A sound from the rows caused her to raise her wrinkled head.

"Yes, Ms. Patil, what is it?" she asked in a tone of voice meant to show her displeasure at the interruption.

"Er, sorry Ma'am, but aren't we going to work on the spells we've been learning? This is DADA, shouldn't this assignment be better for Charms or history or CoMc?" The Ravenclaw of the pair asked as politely and gently as she could.

"I have studied the results of your previous teachers, Ms. Patil, and have come to the conclusion that their methods of teaching have corrupted you. So I am bringing you all back to basics. There will now be no spell-casting in this course. You will study the books, and each week there will be a test on the assigned works. The tests will be written works, not practical. You will describe the wand movements for the spells shown on the tests, as well as the proper incantation of the spell. No actual spell casting will take place. is that understood?" she glared over the students.

"What the bloody hell do you mean we won't actually be doing any spells?" demanded Harry rising from his seat. His scar throbbed painfully, but he ignored it.

"Mr. Potter, if you do not sit down this instant, you will be banned from this class. As it is for swearing at a teacher, you are docked 45 points from Gryffindor, and are banned from participating in the Quidditch team." she beamed internally as she saw the look of shock and desolation cross Potter's face. "You might be Dumbledore's favorite, and have been given great leeway in the past, Mr. Potter, but in my class room, you will do what I say how I say, or you will be punished. Is that understood?"

Harry was quivering with anger, trying desperately to remain in control of his anger. He was fighting the urge to whip out his wand and start hexing and cursing the old witch. He was loosing the battle, but Hermione and Ron placed restraining grips on his hands and he glanced at them in irritation before allowing his anger to cool. He nodded his thanks to his friends and turned a frosty glare on the source of his rage. "Listen you old bat, I don't give a shite what you say. Voldemort is back whether that tosser Fudge want's to admit it or not and we NEED to learn more if we are to protect ourselves from him and his lackeys. Death Eaters aren't really anything special, they just use spells that no decent person would want to use on another human being. In order to stay alive against them we need to learn more them simple Protego and banishing charms. We need to learn spells with real power behind them, and Sirius Black was teaching us those spells. We also needs to actually cast some of the spells since just knowing the movements and words won't do much when we need to use them against a Death Eater with decades of experience."

"That is enough, Mr. Potter. I will not have you spreading those rumors and lies in my class room. You will report each night for detention after your last class for the next three weeks. You will also come in on Saturday and Sunday as well. I am docking you a further 50 points from Gryffindor, and am widening your ban to include all Quidditch related activities. You are no longer permitted to attend the games and are banned from pitch side during games. You can not do anything to aid the Gryffindor team and this means no coming up with plays, no training of players, no giving tips or information about other teams. If I catch you doing any of the above, I will dock your house 100pts for each infraction, as well as a months worth of detention." She glared at Harry, who could feel his anger rising up again as she continued to speak. "Now, you are banned from this class for the next two weeks, though I expect you to have the assignments done and handed in through one of your house mates. The Dark Lord is dead, Potter, and you above all should know this is so. The Death Eater that are acting out are simply a small group of misinformed and misguided fools seeking attention because of their rather pedestrian lives. There is no war brewing and there is no chance of You know Who returning. He was defeated somehow by you yourself Potter, when you were but a year old. And while we are all grateful for his defeat, you can not expect us ALL to simply bow down at your feet and obey ever whim you have. Your detentions will be to write the line 'I will no spread baseless rumors' for the length of the detention. Now, gather your belonging and leave this room. And if I hear of any one practicing any of the spells I will punish you Potter, so make sure your fellow students understand the gravity of my words. When I say no one cast any spells, I mean no one casts ANY spells. Understood?"

Gritting his teeth, Harry nodded and grabbed up his things. He acknowledged Ron and Hermione's looks with a nod and strode proudly out of the room. He was more determined then ever to increase the HarHarTu meetings, and now that he no longer was involved in the regular curriculum of the DADA course, he could spend that time coming up with lessons for the HarHarTu group. They were working on the Patronus Charm on an ongoing basis, but few had yet to master it. All could cast all least a powerful mist, and most a corporeal form Patronus. The main problem was that there were only a few who could do so easily while most struggled and took way too long to cast the charm. Still with the new book from Sirius, he should be able to get even the slowest learners up to at least EE level for the OWLs, NEWTs and FOWLs, depending on their year.

And when he finished the lesson planning, he could try and figure out a way to help Sirius. he'd already lost his Godfather twice, he wasn't going to loose him a third time. Even if he had to break every law and rule in England.

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A nice, long chapter for an update. It took me 3 shifts at work to write this all out. I started on a Friday, did a fair amount Sat, and the majority on Sunday. We moved over to 12 hour shifts on Sat and Sun this weekend of Sept 24th 2005, so on those shifts, I'll have lost of time to write. Expect more regular updates on all my stories, though there are some I'm more focussed on at the moment then others. Which is only natural, but I am working on ALL of them, even if it doesn't seem like it from lack of updates.